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500 Drachmai
| Issuer | National Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1901 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 500 Drachmai |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central vignette of a seated figure, possibly a shepherd or allegorical rural personage, surrounded by sheep, with a classical Greek temple visible in the background. Two large dark medallions bearing the numeral '500' flank the central scene, set against an elaborate guilloche underprint in blue-green tones. The legend 'BANQUE NATIONALE DE GRECE' appears in a horizontal band below the central vignette, with the printer's imprint 'AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY, NEW YORK' at the bottom margin. |
| Reverse lettering | BANQUE NATIONALE DE GRECE 500 AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY, NEW YORK |
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| Comments |
The National Bank of Greece turned to the American Bank Note Company for this series at a particularly strained moment in Greek public finance — the country had defaulted on its external debt in 1893 and was still operating under the International Financial Commission imposed by its creditors in 1898. Commissioning high-security engraved printing from New York was partly a credibility exercise, signaling to foreign capital markets that the currency was being managed responsibly.
ABNC's intaglio work on Greek issues of this period is among the finer commercial engraving produced for southern European clients at the time. The 500 Drachmai was not a denomination that changed hands often — purchasing power put it well beyond routine transactions.